By Rick Rogers
Rick Rogers Media
Hindsight is 20/20. Predicting the top stories for the coming year is more challenging, but here are the issues you’ll be reading more about in the coming year.
If there is a theme here it’s that after more than a decade of fighting overseas, the country takes a closer look at domestic security than last year and what as a nation Americans are willing to give up in the privacy sphere in the name of internal security.
So, here in reverse order are my top military and veteran stories for 2014.
Iraq fails. This nation was cobbled together by the British after World War I from three regions dominated by the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites who, to put it mildly, don’t get along. The year will see Iraq’s central … Read entire article »

Surface Warriors, friends and supporters, this year’s annual Jay Prout Memorial Golf Tournament will take place on Friday 23 August at Admiral Baker Golf Course. The attached flyer provides details and registration information for the event. We hope you will be able to join us.
The tournament proceeds will again support the RADM Jay Prout Scholarship Fund which provides college tuition support to a dependent son or daughter of a West Coast Surface Warrior. In addition to joining us for the day, we are seeking your support in helping sponsor the prizes as well as the Scholarship Fund. I have enclosed a form which describes the various sponsorship opportunities that we are offering. If you are able to support a sponsorship, I would ask that you fill out the form and … Read entire article »

By Rick Rogers
Defensetracker.com
Twenty information technology scholarships worth at least $430,00 are going to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in a unique collaborative program sponsored by wireless giant Qualcomm Inc. and Manpower San Diego.
“Strategies for Success” is a 26 –week program designed to give vets a leg up pursuing high-tech careers in an effort to drive down the high unemployment rate among younger veterans.
The first class for veterans is scheduled to start in January. Entry knowledge in IT is required for scholarship consideration.
“If you think you have the right skills, submit a resume,” said Phil Blair, the CEO of Manpower San Diego. “There is nothing to lose.”
Apparently veterans agree. Less than half a day after publication of the program, 122 veterans had already applied.
Nationwide the official unemployment rate among all veterans is about … Read entire article »

Front & Center: Military Talk Radio w/Rick Rogers
Show No. 79, Sept. 16, 2012
Click here to listen.
SEGMENT I:
Hello and welcome to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio.
So glad to have you here.
At least all of you not fried to a crisp yesterday here in Southern California.
How hot was it?
It was so hot yesterday that the devil was seen in Home Depot Ace buying air conditioners.
It was so hot I saw a homeless guy carrying a sign that said, “Will work for shade.”
It’s so hot, hens were laying McNuggets.
And finally, it was so hot ice cream trucks were selling sticks!
And finally, it was so hot Jehovah’s Witnesses started telemarketing!
Music bumper
On today’s show a story about the return of a piece of Vietnam and San Diego history that dates back to the … Read entire article »

Front & Center: Military Talk Radio w/Rick Rogers
Listen to show No. 78 for Sept. 9, 2012 here.
Guests: Marine Corps Times beat reporter Gidget Fuentes. She’ll talk about a recent DOD IG report on the Marine’s Wounded Warrior West Battalion at Camp Pendleton. Some good things and concerns were uncovered at the unit that helps Marines and sailors transition after being wounded in combat.
Also on the show: Sandy Lehmkuhler, president and founder, Freedom Station.
SEGMENT I:
Hello and welcome to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio with Rick Rogers.
So glad to have you here on this first Sunday of the NFL regular season.
On today’s show a reporter who writes for the Marine Corps Times. She will bring us up to speed on a recent Pentagon report that highlights both the good and bad about … Read entire article »

By Rick Roger
Host of Front & Center: Military Talk Radio
Charities rattling their cups for veterans and troop programs in Southern California have grown to epic numbers in recent years.
I bet San Diego County charities have grown 10 fold since 2008.
At least I think they have.
Fact is I don’t know. I don’t know how many there are or what they all do let alone what happens to all the money they collect.
Unfortunately no one else knows either.
This proliferation isn’t necessarily a bad thing. San Diego County is home to the largest military population in the county and likewise the most Iraq and Afghanistan veterans anywhere.
That a robust, non-profit community exists here to minister to their needs makes perfect sense.
Most non-profits are run by honest if sometimes paperwork-challenged individuals. Most of the … Read entire article »

By Rick Rogers
Host of Front & Center: Military Talk Radio
The big news in the last week for San Diego County veterans was both expected and relieving.
The Aspire Center, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed 40-bed medical facility in Old Town, finally won approval.
Local veterans suffering mental and emotional wounds after their service will finally have a place of their own to recuperate under the best care available.
That San Diego County, home to the most Afghanistan and Iraq war vets in the country, waited a decade for such a center is a real puzzler.
But at least there’s one on the way.
On Tuesday the San Diego City Council unanimously approved the conditional use permit allowing the $30 million Aspire Center to move forward.
Had countervailing forces succeeded, the San Diego VA Healthcare System … Read entire article »

Front & Center: Military Talk Radio
Show No. 68, July 1, 2012. Listen by clicking here.
Guests this week:
* Jack Harkins, chairman of the United Veterans Council of San Diego.
* Joseph Montanaro, financial expert for USAA.
SEGMENT I:
Hello and welcome to Front & Center: Military Talk Radio. You’re program for the best local and national defense and veterans news. I’m your host Rick Rogers.
Wow, what an incredible week for military news both near and far.
First there was the San Diego City Council hearing on the Aspire Center; then the Supreme Court decision to strike down the Stolen Valor Act; another Supreme Court decision not to review the Mount Soledad cross case; the Navy unveiling plans to expand SEAL training and the earthquake on Friday that wasn’t an earthquake but rather Navy jets … Read entire article »

Rick Rogers Media * 2245 Newcastle Ave. * Cardiff, CA 92007
Tele: 760.445.3882
Front & Center: Military Talk Radio is a cost-effective way to reach more than 3 million people — including 700,000 troops, veterans, dependents and reservists — with targeted messaging.
Transmitted from 50,000-watt strong KCBQ AM 1170, Front & Center offers a blend of news and information to San Diego’s and Southern California’s military-connected populations three times a week found no where else.
While many radio shows do politics, only Front & Center delivers local, state and national defense news and information.
Here are just a few reasons why outreach on Front & Center makes sense:
Unique. No other military talk show serves the region’s huge military, defense contracting and veteran populations in Southern California.
Large and Growing Audience. More than 700,000 former service members live … Read entire article »

May 3, 2012
1300 17th Street, Suite 1000 Sacramento, CA 95811 (916) 445-8696 mhsoac@mhsoac.ca.gov
Dear Mental Health Community in San Diego and Neighboring Counties:
A Community Forum will be held on June 6, 2012, to discuss the impact of Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), in San Diego and neighboring counties. The Community Forum is sponsored by the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC), and facilitated by two MHSOAC committees, the Client and Family Leadership Committee and the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee.
The Community Forum will be held from 2:30 to 6:00 PM.
Location: Hilton San Diego Mission Valley Hotel 901 Camino Del Rio South San Diego, CA 92108 Phone: (619) 543-9000 (Directions only)
Specifically, the MHSOAC is interested in hearing from stakeholders about how MHSA services and supports that … Read entire article »